Our CR1 Spouse Visa Journey

There are several different options when it comes to emigrating to the USA but we felt the CR1 Spousal Visa was the best for our situation. The rules and laws are constantly changing (we’ve already been caught up in one law change!), but this is our visa journey, true as of 2015/2016 onwards…because lets face it, it’s an on going process that doesn’t stop the day you enter America!

As a long distance couple we had to pick one country or the other. As I didn’t earn enough to be a UK visa sponsor, I had no choice but to be the one to make the move to America. Because of this we decided it was only fair to get married in the UK so at least my whole family could witness it.

My partner entered the UK on a UK Marriage Visitor Visa to give Notice and then again later in the year, for the wedding.

Once we were married we could then truly begin our visa journey so I could legally live in the USA. This is a detailed version of some of the things you can expect from the visa process, including tips and advice on some of the forms you may encounter. Please be aware that I am NOT an immigration lawyer. The following information is an account of my successful CR1 Spousal Visa Application.

Our Visa Journey: The CR1 Visa Process

As I am a Brit, married to a USA citizen. We used the I 130 petition for a spousal visa.

Before You Start The Process

Here are a couple of helpful resources in deciding if the CR1 is right for you, including the total cost of the process, how long it could potentially take with the visa processing times and whether you may prefer to enter on a Fiancé visa instead of a Spouse visa!

NVC Stage

Once USCIS have approved the marriage as such, the application then gets sent the National Visa Centre. This part is processed faster than the USCIS stage and is where you’ll have to prove that the American sponsor earns enough to support the intending immigrant and the immigrant has to fill in a giant in depth form about their background, how often they’ve travelled to the States in the past etc. All the official stuff!

London Stage

For me, coming from the UK, the final stage of this part of the visa journey was dealt with in London. This is the first time ‘America’ will see you as a real person. You have to pass an in-depth medical and then have a face to face interview at the embassy…which really isn’t that bad, they mainly just want to see all the originals of the documents that were sent as copies during the application.

Settling in to the USA

More resources on settling into the USA as a new immigrant such as receiving your Social Security Number, passing an American driving test and travelling internationally using a Green Card (hint…never travel without it!!!)

Removing 2 Year Green Card Conditions

If you’ve been married for less that 2 years when you first apply for a Green Card, you are only given 2 years once you are granted entry. 3 months before the expiration date on the card, you have to fill out the I-751 to remove the 2 year conditions on the Green Card.

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16 thoughts on “Our CR1 Spouse Visa Journey”

Because we wanted to get married in England so certain family members could be there. We thought if I was the one moving, it was only fair they got to be there for the wedding, they would never have been able to fly to the States for it 🙂

Cool! I’m like 20 minutes from the Wisconsin border! Thanks 🙂 I just used Microsoft Word…mainly text boxes and the photos! You could organise it in anyway, I was just being stingy because I’d already used a ton of paper printing off the forms so I was trying to make it as small as I could!

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Welcome to Between England and Iowa!

I’m Kylie and this is my Travel & Lifestyle blog! I’m a British girl living in the USA, blogging about the USA visa process, expat life and awesome adventures in England, Iowa and everywhere in between!! Pre-K teaching assistant by day, world traveller on weekends and during school breaks!! If you have any questions or just want to say hi, feel free to contact me!

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